Dropdown Menu

Tuesday, November 20

Israeli Aggression: Dress Rehearsal for Iran?

Tuesday, November 20, 2012
-
0

Longstanding US and Israeli policies call for regime change in Iran.
Replacing its independent government with a pro-Western puppet one is
planned.

War is the bottom line option if other methods fail. Both countries have
longstanding plans. War could erupt any time. Doing so is madness. It's
also lawless, unconscionable, and self-destructive. Attacking Iran
assures all combatants lose.

Gaza may be prelude to what's planned. Perhaps strategy and tactics are
being tested. In all Israeli wars, so are new weapons. Israel uses
illegal ones freely. Victims sustain horrific injuries. Many are killed
outright or don't survive.

Hostilities against Gaza continue aggressively. Overnight Sunday into
early Monday, over 80 targets were struck. Since November 15, about
1,400 were attacked.

The official death toll passed 100. Perhaps double that number died.
Many are buried under rubble. Over 700 were injured. For many, it's
serious. Others are maimed for life. Some are so badly hurt they won't
survive. Civilians are willfully targeted. Over half of Al Shifa
Hospital casualties are children and infants. Medical staff are
hard-pressed. They can't properly handle the growing case load.

Vital medications and other supplies are being
exhausted. What's enough for a week or longer is consumed in a few
hours. If conflict persists, treating seriously injured patients won't
be possible.

Hamas wants peace, equity and justice for all Palestinians. Its leaders
expressed willingness many times to recognize Israel in return for
internationally recognized self-determination inside pre-1967 borders.
It represents 22% of historic Palestine.

Despite numerous prior Israeli attacks, they agreed unilaterally to
observe ceasefire. They never held because Israel provokes conflict.
Current negotiations are worthless without internationally enforced
conflict resolution terms.

Western support lets Israel get away with murder. It's "given a free path to do whatever it wishes."

Such a circumstance is morally unendurable,
and should be politically unacceptable. It needs to be actively opposed
globally by every person, government, and institution of good will.

It's
also true for every country Israel and Washington target.
Western-generated conflict terrorizes Syrians. Full-scale war may erupt.
The road to Tehran runs through Damascus. Gaza may be target practice
for what's planned.

When will it end, she asked? Israel's "right to defense" is code
language for aggressive slaughter. Western leaders and media scoundrels
ignore systematic state terror.

Military solutions aren't possible. Endless violence continues.
Israelis, Palestinians and others for peace "can lead the way, by their
own nonviolent movements, including the boycott, divestment and
sanctions campaigns, to bring about real political change, and give
peace a chance. We can all do something for peace in the Middle East."

From Cairo, Hamas political head Khaled Meshal told reporters:

Israel must make the first move. It must halt bombing and shelling.

Whoever started the war must end it.

This is a difficult, but magnificent moment in the history of the
Palestinian problem, in our brave journey of resistance and combat,
nobility, so deeply rooted in the Palestinian land.

Whoever attacks Palestine will be buried by it. Anyone who invades our Arab nations will be defeated for generations.

Netanyahu wanted to achieve several targets but has not succeeded. He
succeeded in killing commander Ahmed Jabari but also wanted to damage
the military wing's infrastructure, especially the long-range missiles.

This enemy is trying its weapons and its Iron Dome in anticipation of
other wars, and yet the limited weapons in Gaza embarrassed it and its
army. How will it succeed in other wars? It has an army, true, but no
patience or legitimacy.

Early Monday evening, a senior Egyptian official told Haaretz:

We are very close to a cease-fire. What is
needed is more flexibility on the Israeli side. Tomorrow will be a
critical day in the talks.

Terms discussed weren't
disclosed. Talks continue. Hamas knows the stakes. Now's the time to
hold firm for equity and justice. Nothing less is morally right. Nothing
less will work.

Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups have Israel's rogue
government to deal with. They also have large numbers of Israelis
representing its lunatic fringe.

Ariel Sharon's son, Gilad, is one. On November 18, he headlined a
Jerusalem Post commentary "A decisive conclusion is necessary."

Don't
end Operation Pillar of Cloud like Cast Lead, he urged. Finish off
Palestinians "decisively….To accomplish this, you need to achieve what
the other side can’t bear, can’t live with, and our initial bombing
campaign isn’t it."

Gaza isn't besieged, he claims. "(F)latten entire neighborhoods in Gaza.
Flatten all of Gaza." America followed Hiroshima with Nagasaki, he
added.

There should be no electricity in Gaza, no gasoline or moving vehicles, nothing. Then they’d really call for a ceasefire.

If that doesn't work, reoccupying the entire Strip.

Gaza very much is occupied, oppressed, half-starved, denied fundamental
rights, bombed and shelled intermittently, and treated like subhumans.

Not enough, says Sharon. He wants more. There's "no middle path," he
says. "This needs to end quickly - with a bang, not a whimper."

He urges genocide and mass destruction. Imagine a publication printing
what it should condemn and ignore. It happens often in Israel. It's
common in America.

A previous article said America's favorite pastime isn't baseball. In
Israel it isn't soccer. It's permanent wars. One begets others. Soft
targets are chosen. One nation after another is ravaged, destroyed, and
plundered.

Life is being squeezed out of Syria. Iran is next. Peace and stability
are spurned. War is prioritized. Debate continues about whether to
attack Iran and when. Post-election makes it more likely.

In January, Israel has its own. Netanyahu is favored to win. Doing so
frees him for war. He believes attacking Iran assures regional calm. He
and Obama are on the wrong side of reality.

Iran threatens no one. Its nuclear program is peaceful. Its neighbors
know it. So do American, European, and Israeli leaders. Admitting it
would undermine their regional agenda.

Who knows for sure if war is likely. Odds favor it. Perhaps bombing and
shelling Gaza is warm-up for what's planned. In the fullness of time
we'll know.

Stephen Lendman who wrote the above lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled
How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network
Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon.
All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/